Chapter 09
The two girls had their intubation tubes removed but their throats remained sore from the procedure. However, when they asked for water or ice chips, by some surprise, they were both brought two small bowls of chocolate ice cream, with dark chocolate pieces drizzled all over it.
"I'm confused." Sara muttered. "Did we just get poisoned and suddenly wake up in a hospital ran by Willie Wonka and his chocolate factory?"
"At least it's cold." Nova offered, deciding at this point not to begrudge the offering. She put a spoonful of the ice cream in her mouth but Sara stared at the bowl in hesitation. "What's wrong?" She asked.
Sara merely grimaced but both were startled to hear a voice from the doorway.
"Oh, it may not be gourmet but it still has its merits. It's ice cream after all." Barrowmen slowly entered the room seeing both their eyes widen at his appearance. He was cautious and slow in his approach just in case of panic but to his relief, Sara gave a faint smile.
"Jack." She muttered, looking at the man before considering his presence here. "They're not putting you under protective confinement too, right?"
"It's John actually. John Barrowmen. And no, I can take care of myself."
"Ah, now that's what I said." Sara glanced at Nova in satisfaction.
"And I offered my assistance." He took a seat in the chair just between their beds, glancing at Nova who was briefly rubbing her forehead and then back at Sara who still hadn't touched her ice cream. Even though Dr. Freeman had given them the triglycerides found in chocolate, it was better to approach this at every angle including consumption and digestion of the product itself.
"You going to eat that?" He prompted and Sara sighed.
"Honestly, I don't like ice cream. I'm not a fan of sugar and…" She shrugged.
"It's a pain to find a dessert we both could enjoy." Nova muttered, thinking of all the hit and misses she had with Sara and sweets.
"We would still like you to have a few bites." Barrowmen said. "The chocolate does help."
"Against what?" Sara asked. "Dementors?" She referenced Harry Potter and the lingering after effects the soul suckers from those books had caused by just their mere presence. "We haven't met one, I promise."
Barrowmen chuckled. Harry Potter. He wondered if JK Rowling had any sort of intuition to the many creatures from various planets she had been unlikely to lay eyes upon. "No, not dementors. Aspirin. Both your biology has undergone a significant change and we are only able to project back five years but...some of your biology, your DNA isn't human. There is a triple helix DNA marker but generally I call it-"
"TNA." Nova realized, her ice cream suddenly forgotten as Sara's face had suddenly paled.
"Yes, exactly. TNA." He was amazed. How Nova knew that, he would love to know. "You see, we have all seen your birth certificates. I know you both believe you don't have any living relations but your TNA markers actually indicate a pattern. There are 17 repetitions for just one chromosome in the same position alone when I compared it to…..well, our mutual friend."
"And that means?" Sara asked, wanting him to get straight to the point. "You're talking about the Doctor. What does it mean?"
"He is your paternal grandfather." He said simply. "And I know he'll love…." He saw Sara's expression. Suddenly she was hyperventilating and then shaking her head.
"No!" She exclaimed. "You can't tell him!" She told Barrowmen as tears came to her eyes. "Please, please, please don't tell him." She had spent the last five years hearing every single moment of Nova's dreams. She knew the shows too. She knew the Time Lord Victorious and Valeyard were all distinct possibilities. Nova was barely able to type out the word Valeyard. She couldn't say the word at all; as if vocalizing it would summon his presence. She knew about the Final Action and the Final Sanction. She had also briefly seen the real Doctor's face and his eyes…far more ancient and older than she could even grasp or think. "Anything you want." She told Barrowmen. "I'll tell you anything but please don't tell him! We can't! Not after…!"
"What in blazes is going on?" Dr. Freeman had entered the room, followed by John and Mark.
"Please don't hand us off to the Doctor!" Sara was shaking. "I….you….you don't know what he's capable of. Look, I'm sorry. We're sorry for running off from the reception but please…" She was shaking hard as Nova's stomach was churning in dread. Her head was whirling. All the multiple scenarios. And she knew why Sara would be downright terrified of the Doctor. She had admitted to not being a true fan of the television shows but when her friends had her watch them, she felt a disturbing draw to them despite the fact she detested many aspects of science fiction.
Our grandfather. Nova thought in wonder. Was that why she dreamed of him so consistently and so often? She looked over at Sara and as she watched her reaction, realized the other half of the scenario. The possible horror of being even remotely related to the Doctor. Well, the Doctor was fine. It was the Time Lord Victorious or the V—Him that was terrifying. Quietly, she voiced her agreement. "It would be best if this information was kept from him."
"No kidding! If he finds out…!" Sara shivered violently. "We swear we won't run anymore. We'll behave and won't complain. Just don't tell him!"
"He won't hurt you." Barrowman tried to sooth them both. "He's your grandfather, he'd never let you get hurt."
The girls turned disbelieving eyes to him. "I thought you were smarter than that. Don't you know who he is?"
"He's the Doctor." John Barrowman said simply, amazed at this odd reaction. He'd never seen anyone that was actually afraid of the Doctor. Well, no one that wasn't doing something they knew they shouldn't.
Nova breathed out and she looked over at Sara. "I think it's time we tell them." The brothers tensed. "They won't understand why we're afraid without an explanation."
Sara snorted. "They won't believe us. It's why we haven't said so to begin with. Among other things."
"Do you have a better idea?"
"Yeah. Eat the sickeningly sweet ice cream."
"Chocolate should help with your detox from the poison."
Nova blinked at that. She only knew of one thing that chocolate would help. She paused. "Aspirin? Someone gave us aspirin?" she whispered. Barrowman was shocked that she would know such things. How could she?
Sara was confused. "What are you talking about?"
"Gallifreyans have a toxic allergy to aspirin. If it's caught soon enough, they can cure some of the effects with chocolate." Nova recited. "I think he ran into someone trying to poison him with chocolate when he was with Sarah Jane." She thought for several moments, trying to remember.
"Who poisoned him?"
"Can't remember. But I doubt that whoever did it is still around."
"Okay ladies. I'm confused. How do you know these things?" Barrowman asked softly. "I promise to believe whatever it is." Please. Trust me.
Nova sighed and leaned back against the pillows. Her throat was still sore, so she obediently ate the chocolate ice cream. She hated chocolate…except for three days a month. Either that or she was picky about which types of chocolate she ate. When she was halfway done, she admitted she did feel a little bit better. She gave a great sigh. It was all the confirmation she needed for the validity of the men's words. "Eat the ice cream, Sara. I already feel a little better. Less nauseated."
Sara, with incredible reluctance, began to nibble on the ice cream. She made a very interesting face while doing so, which made those watching try to hide their grins of amusement.
As Nova watched her, she took a deep breath. "I've been…dreaming about the Doctor for as long as I can remember. I've never dreamed about anything or anyone else. He's always there. Every time I close my eyes. I've seen him do things. I've watched…" she shivered violently, suddenly sick as she once again was unable to keep the images of the Scary Doctor out of her mind.
"It was my idea to use her dreams as a way to make money. We spent months searching for any evidence that he was actually real and not just someone she had made up. When we didn't find anything, we went ahead and published." Sara put in, already feeling mildly better from the ice cream. Even though she hated the sickeningly sweet taste, it was technically medicine and medicine wasn't supposed to taste good anyway. She would force it down. "When they were so popular that Nova could stop her interim work, I introduced the idea of writing about Sherlock Holmes and John Watson." She didn't mention how she knew about them. Let them come to their own conclusions. "We never thought any of it was real."
"If we had, we wouldn't have written any of it down." Nova pressed her agreement.
John Barrowman was getting a very good idea of how the girls knew of things. But he wanted to know exactly why. "What did you see him do that makes you so afraid?" he asked quietly.
Nova shivered. "I saw…so many things. Most of them are wonderful. Beautiful. Brilliant. Exciting. But every now and then…there's the Time War. Gallifrey burned. He burned it. He's committed genocide so many times." Her face was full of pain and compassion.
"To save trillions of people." He countered softly. "Time and space and planets."
"I know. I saw what the Daleks did. I heard the screams. The children…" Tears welled up and fell down her cheeks. "Oh Rassilon above, the children." She began to give great heaving sobs as her mind traveled down pathways she usually tried to stay far away from. "Oh God!"
Sara thought that was plenty. She shoved the bowl into Altamont's hands, jumped off the bed and went over to Nova, holding her friend tightly. "Shhh…it's okay. It's over."
"But it isn't." Nova's voice was quiet even through the tears. "It's always happening, because it hasn't happened yet."
"Shhh…Shhhh…" Sara tried to sooth her. She glared over Nova's head at the men. "See what you've done?"
"What does she mean when she says that?" John asked softly.
Sara sighed. "I don't know. She's been saying it for years, whenever she can't push the images away. Like now."
"It's only happened once. It has to happen twice more." Nova said quietly.
"Get some sleep, sweetie. Okay?"
"No! Don't make me sleep!" Nova cried out in fear. She didn't want to see the images again. Sometimes she couldn't force herself to wake up.
"Okay. Okay. Shhh…just calm down. Okay? Calm down."
"Let's leave the girls to relax. Finish their ice cream." Barrowman suggested and practically shoved the brothers out of the room. When the door was closed and the guards stationed again. Finally his shoulders slumped a little. "Nova definitely has some traits of the Time Lords. Talking about time not happening yet. The bit about it happening three times is new though. We can ask the Doctor when he shows back up. Or…you could call him." He suggested with a raised eyebrow.
"Let's not until we have some good news to tell him. Catch the ones who've done this to his relatives to start with. Created him relatives. The ones behind the bonfire and the aspirin." John Altamont shook his head. He really didn't want to tell the off-worlder anything bad without being able to also give good news.
"It's possible they, whoever 'they' are, divided up different parts of the Doctor's TNA to give to the girls. Sara seems to have more of his healing ability while Nova has more of his ability to sense time." Barrowman said absently.
"Though Nova seems to be developing it a bit." Michael said as he joined them. "Do not upset the girls like that again. Or I will be cross." He threatened severely. His eyes were hard with steel. Hard enough that the man believed him.
"Understood."
"Good. Now…how are you going to find those that have done this to those girls?"
"Interrogations from Canary Wharf have yielded few results." John said. "We will give them time to recuperate and then continue the progression at the studio."
"You're going to continue with the production of the show."
"Of course." John nodded. "It is likely that whomever made this attempt will likely try to re-engage the girls again. To that end, BBC has the most opportunity. We can observe and wait for any such person to get close."
"Then I must secure a position on the set." Barrowmen acceded.
"Do you intend to audition for the role of yourself? I have to say that Nova is considering having you play your role."
"And that would be a mistake." Barrowmen said. "You aren't the slightest bit like me. No amount of acting would assist in that effort." He paused. "But no, I have a range of other talents to equip myself with." He thought for a moment. "I'll offer to be their technical advisor."
He took a glance at the window as Dr. Freeman was seeing to his patients. The next few weeks might prove to be lengthy in this very game of bait and switch.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
One month later saw the girls both back on the sets as pre production started with read throughs for the cast assigned to both shows.
Sara's went first. Her cast had been completed and the script polished. Nova was still lingering on some of the nuances with the Doctor Chronicles so when Sara asked her to sit and watch just the initial read throughs, she did agree. At least her security blended into the background when there were several other actors in the room.
She sighed. Daniel Gilles was rather stiff when he was reading his lines. It wasn't that he didn't read them well but she wanted the more relaxed, casual composure she had seen of him from Saving Hope. Not the stiff sophisticate she witnessed in The Vampire Diaries who couldn't bear to get his hands dirty.
"Daniel…." Sara started. "Remember, John Watson is more laid back. Down to earth. He cares about people. He's the mirror character for Sherlock. The opposite. That's how the two of them establish balance, which makes their friendship work." She tapped her fingers on the table. "Let's try this again. From Sherlock, 'What is it Afghanistan?'" She glanced at John who nodded, looking down at the script.
"What is it Afghanistan or Iraq?" John said quickly.
Gilles performance improved slightly. "Afghanistan. Sorry, how did you know…?"
"Ah Molly, coffee. Thank you."
And so it went on for several hours. A tedious venture before they took a break for lunch.
That was also when Nova had invited her to see the exterior for the TARDIS the set up crew was erecting. In order to keep the details slightly different, she changed the color of the exterior of the ship from a light shade of blue to pleasant color of forest green. Sara nodded her approval.
"It really looks good, Nova." Sara smiled. "I'm impressed. What room holds the interior?"
"Oh, that is studio C." Again here, she went for a burnt red color and was also pleased with the result. They went on to mutter about technicalities. How the library would be featured, the swimming pool. It was then that Sara insisted the wine cellar should have its passing moment of glory. Nova laughed. It was an ongoing debate between them.
"Excuse me, Ms. Thomas, Ms. Morganson?" A man dressed in polo shirt with BBC lettering on the collar stood awkwardly at the door. "Sorry to disturb but Mr. Altamont and Mr. Gatiss requested that I give you both a copy of this message." He explained.
"Of, of course." Sara felt a bit frazzled. "Did they leave to go out for lunch?" That wasn't unusual. As long as they left their security detail behind, it was often a custom of theirs.
"Fifteen minutes ago. This is to notify you regarding the update to your schedules." The employee stated. Each girl took the envelope before watching the BBC staff member head out the door.
"How very exciting." Sara muttered, setting the note down. As far as she was concerned, it could wait until after she too had eaten. But Nova had already started to open hers. Suddenly, the red head gave a small shriek and tossed the envelope away. A fine white powder scattered all over the floor.
"It's…." Nova look badly shaken. "They…"
Sara grasped her shoulders. "Did you touch it? Any physical contact at all?"
Slowly Nova shook her head and Sara smiled in relief, giving her a quick embrace before pushing the silent alert button they both now habitually carried. Her mobile rang almost instantly afterward.
"Yes, hello. Right. Another attempt to poison us by messenger. Appeared to be a BBC employee. Mid forties, light brown hair, brown eyes." She paused. "No, we'll head back to my office and stay right there until the alert has been lifted." Quietly, she hung up the phone going back over to her friend to guide her back to the office. "It's okay. Nothing happened. You saw what it was. Jack is on the way to keep us company." Even though his name was John, both girls thought that was confusing. After all, they were already in habit of calling John Altamont, John. Barrowmen didn't appear to mind being called Jack.
"Come on, I'll let you beat me at chess to make you feel better."
"I always beat you at chest." Nova said as a faint smile came to her lips.
"Exactly. See what a good friend I am." They stepped through the threshold as Sara prepared the kettle for a pot of tea. Nova could well do the act herself but Sara always thought it was her contribution. "Chocolate?" She held out a bag of Swiss chocolate powder. "A cure for what ails you."
"You know me too well." Nova told her.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The security detail was already taking this new attempt in paranoid stride. A female on each of their teams decided to take it upon herself to never leave them alone. Not even for bathroom breaks. It was irritating, tedious, and nerve-wracking…but compared to the alternative that almost happened, the girls dealt with it mostly in silence.
The BBC employee was located, a cellphone picture confirmed identity with the girls, and then they were left alone with their security in the office for an hour and a half.
Nova cried out in victory an hour in. "Ha! I got him!" she gave a little dance in her happiness.
"Who?" Sara asked. She saw the security relax as they realize that the little scream was not one that indicated pain or fear. "And stop scaring the detail. They're high enough strung as it is."
"Sorry," Nova said sheepishly to the two guards. One gave her a small shrug, the other a tiny smile so that she knew they didn't hold it against her. "But I got Hugh Dancy!"
"Seriously? I thought that he wasn't able to because of his obligations to Hannibal." Sara raised an eyebrow in curiosity.
"Apparently they are crippling his character and won't be showing up nearly as much. So he'll be free to play Nine. I'm so excited!" The redhead did another little dance. "He plays odd geniuses so well! He's flying in and will be here by tomorrow to begin the readings. Mwhahahaha!"
They couldn't help it. Sara and the guards burst out laughing at the ecstatic antics of the other occupant. "I'm so glad, Nova. That's wonderful news."
It was at this point that John and Jack came through the door. They all paused. "What's the good news?" When it was quickly explained to them, John frowned. He seemed to take a second, then came to a decision. "You will not be left alone with him."
"What?" Nova was confused. "But I will need to tell him some things without others overhearing…"
"You will not be with him alone." He said quite firmly. "Your guards are already sworn to secrecy. But I find it very suspicious that someone you obviously wanted for the role turned you down only to now change their mind. It's suspicious."
Nova reluctantly nodded her acquiescence, but wanted to change the subject. "How did it go with the employee?"
Jack sighed. "Nowhere. He gave a description of the man that gave him the envelopes, but didn't know anything himself. Apparently he was acting so nervous because he was a fan of your work."
"Mark is running down the CCTV cameras of the unidentified male. Should have an identity soon of this new assassin." John said calmly.
"I don't think it was." Nova interjected softly. It was almost like she almost didn't want to bring the subject up.
"Huh?" Sara asked. "What are you talking about?"
"Well…it was a powder form. Right?"
"Confirmed. Powdered acetylsalicylic acid was in both envelopes." John stated matter-of-factly, wondering what could possibly be going through the girl's head.
"While skin contact does cause some symptoms, it wouldn't kill us unless we had a lot of surface area covered. If they wanted to do it that way, they should have picked a windy day or something so we would inhale it." Nova tried to explain her reasoning. "Inhalation or ingestion are the best methodologies to use aspirin to kill us. Otherwise, we'd get sick, but we wouldn't die. At least, not fast enough that help couldn't get to us." Part of the position of their guard detail was that every one of them now carried with them chocolate, an epi pen, and adrenaline, to inject into the girls if they collapsed from poisoning.
"The first time was more like this person was confirming we had the allergy to begin with. Otherwise, why do it in a parking lot crawling with ambulances and medical professionals. And Dr. Freeman was able to get to us really quickly. This time…" she paused as she tried to think about the situation from a criminal's viewpoint, "…I think they were testing our security teams and the procedures you implemented to keep us safe from attacks. Whoever this is, they aren't trying to kill us…not really." She stopped there, wondering how those in the room would take her analysis.
Jack had been working with the girls, seeing them every day, for a little over a month. While definitely naïve about certain things, they were also frighteningly accurate about others. Usually things they shouldn't know about to begin with. He had also learned that if the girls were questioned in a specific way, they tended to be more open about answering. So, he adopted a curious, light tone as he asked, "Who would go to such lengths, do you think?"
Sara and Nova exchanged glances as they apparently tried to reason out the answer between the pair of them. "Moriarty would be an obvious option. He's obsessed with Sherlock. Since John's showed so much interest in us, Moriarty might think it worth the risk to see how much we mean to him."
Nova nodded. Her own mind working through the possibilities on her end. "Most of the Doctor's enemies aren't capable of being subtle like this. Daleks and Cybermen are much more direct. So are Sontarans and most others." She pondered. "The Time Agency I can see doing it." Jack's eyebrows hit his hairline at that suggestion, but he didn't interrupt. "They are subtle by design. They like the Doctor a lot, but may see us as a threat for another reason." She frowned as she tried to think of more. "Everyone else I can think of are dead…I think they're dead."
"Tell us anyway." John ordered.
His aggressive tone ended the relaxed back-and-forth the girls had adopted. Nova's eyes looked down as if embarrassed. Hesitantly, she answered. "Rassilon. And the Master. They both hate the Doctor…but they're dead!" she hastened to reassure the gentlemen.
Jack and John both nodded their understanding. All things considered, there were still too many possibilities. They never had gotten around to telling the girls that they had been experimented upon. Those still-unknown groups were also near the top of the list. "We'll look into things."
"Until then…enjoy your Hugh Dancy."
The next day, Nova was doing exactly that. Even the security detail shadows couldn't curb her excitement at having her top pick agree to play the Doctor. He had been excellent as William Graham in Hannibal and Adam Raki in Adam. He was quite good at playing the sorts of roles she wanted him. She was in the middle of explaining to him, after he had signed a nondisclosure agreement to not even tell the fellow cast members, details concerning the Doctor's past. "…he really didn't see any other choice. So, to save the universe and everyone in it across all of time and space, he used the Moment to end both races at the same time."
Hugh was listening intently, soaking up the information with the attitude of a professional. He even asked the occasional question. "Why didn't he just kill himself afterward?"
"Well, the Moment has a type of AI consciousness with its own conscience. It decided that if he was really committed to doing this, that the price was for him to live."
"Why?" he asked in surprise.
Nova's smile was sad. "Because the Doctor didn't want to. He had no desire to outlive his people. Living is his penance."
Hugh nodded thoughtfully. It was part of his job to gather in all these little details, so that he was better able to portray the character. The research he had done for his Wil Graham had taken several hours for him to get into the correct mindset. This was no different, but had to be done in a shorter time period. Thoughtfully, he murmured, "He didn't survive the war, then. He's only alive to try and find a way to make up for what he did."
She nodded. "Especially in the beginning. Then Rose comes into the mix and starts to tell him that he had no choice. It was the only way. She makes him want to live again. But she's human, so he knows the consequences of being in a relationship with a human."
"Such as?"
"Well, the biggest is that he'll live for centuries. Her lifespan is just a long nap in comparison to his own. It's quite sad really. They fall in love with each other, but neither do anything about it because they're both scared. It isn't until the end that they even admit such things."
He nodded again as he absorbed the small details. He had a good idea of how he was going to try to act now. "Alright. I think that's enough for now…" he froze as an odd feeling crept through his mind. Almost like he was drowning, being pulled under waves by a strong current. A ruffle of the last two hours, when he was with Nova, of his memories flashing across the inside of his eyelids. Then, he heard his voice say something that he had no plan on asking. "What about other Time Lords that escaped the war? Didn't the Doctor go looking for them?"
Nova frowned slightly, her eyes glancing at her guard who had also tensed. There was something…something had changed in the last couple minutes. She didn't know what it was. Everything seemed exactly the same, but she still couldn't shake the feeling something was wrong. Not knowing what else to do, she answered, "The ones that had left escaped into different dimensions for the most part. During the war, the walls between universes were sealed. They can't come back. And the Doctor can't go to them. The only other way they could hide is the Chameleon Arch, which also hides the mind of a Time Lord. He'd have no way of knowing they survived at all, let alone where to find them or start looking."
"I see." Dancy heard himself say. "Thank you for indulging my curiosity." Another second and the ocean pull left him. As it left however, the memory of the feeling of the current and that anything unusual was wrong left with it. He blinked and shook his head slightly as his thoughts realigned. Trying to cover up his faux-pas, he said, "So, are we ready to have the reading?"
Nova slowly nodded. Whatever had happened was gone as quickly as it had come. But what exactly had happened? "Yes. Let's go." Suddenly, she was quite glad that John had given the order for her not to be alone with him. She had a feeling that if she had been alone, something much worse than a simple feeling may have occurred.
Sara only stepped in after the reading had been completed to meet the actor Nova had been so thrilled with acquiring. Her eyes lit up with some recognition. "The Earl of Essex." She said. "With Helen Mirren."
"You've seen Elizabeth I." Fancy said. It was prior to a great many of his other films and of course Hannibal. "Are you a fan of history? Or is it period pieces?"
Sara chuckled briefly, glancing back at John who was observing the display. "You have no idea." She was thinking of Sir Conan Doyle who was inspired by the idea for Sherlock by the tales of Edgar Allen Poe, an inspector who detailed his work in forensics and a mortician. "So, you're going to be our ninth Doctor. Hmm…" She paused to do a critical analysis, thinking of Christopher Eccleston. "I can see it. You could definitely pull off leather."
"Sara!" Nova admonished. "We haven't gone over costume yet." After the disconcerting event where the actor hadn't been quite himself, her friend had managed to even make the wardrobe seem scandalous. Sara giggled. At least her friend had been excited about a lead and she had gotten to choose. While Sara 'decided' on her lead, it often seemed to be less than an option. At least the co-star was pleasant enough and there was Jack as they were given to call him and he didn't mind in the least.
"It was my understanding you were both writing these books until you diverged into your own interests." Dancy paused. He felt the strange current overcome him again. As though he weren't really the one speaking. "Are you related?"
Sara glanced at Nova nervously, feeling a slight strain. "Well, we've been living together."
"You both smell so…." His voice drifted as he suddenly took Sara's hand. In the moment she pulled it away, he blinked. "I'm sorry. It must be the jet lag. I'm not quite myself today."
"Perhaps a respite for tonight would work wonders." John suggested flatly to the man, his instincts or wariness on edge has it had been since this person had been brought on set.
"Of course." Dancy muttered, glancing at John. "Yes, John Altamont. The new lead for Sherlock. I suppose we'll be seeing much of each other then. BBC studios being a small world as they are."
"I can assure you of that already." John agreed.
"He's excellent by the way." Dancy told Sara. "The way he keeps in complete character. I was skeptical too at you deciding on an unknown but he seems to have captured your version of Sherlock very well, in case you had doubts."
"Oh, no doubts." Sara muttered. "Not really. More often that he would take too much of his work home with him."
When the actor left, John looked at the two girls and back at the actor. "I'm ordering surveillance on him. To follow his movements."
"Of course." Sara muttered. "We aren't paranoid enough as it is. We have to interrogate every cast member as well." She bit her lip. "I suppose this is a bad time to let you both know that I managed to obtain Cillian Muprhy to play Moriarty."
"Seriously?" Nova was shocked. "I thought he was in Red Lights. That indie after Inception and all…wait." She looked at Sara in confusion. "I thought he made a statement about not wanting to play villains."
"He didn't want to be typecast as a villain." Sara corrected. "Moriarty is kind of on the stranger side. I may have said an upcoming role in the Doctor Chronicles was possible where he would play someone during an episode that was more neutral."
"Sara!" Nova was exasperated.
"I had some hand in those stories….and don't pretend you don't like the actor. Besides, it could wait until season two or three. At least, talk to him. See what you think."
"And neither of you will be left alone with him either." John pronounced decidedly.
"Actually, I have a better idea." Sara said. "We'll leave you two alone and then you can engage him in a staring contest and see how that proceeds." She turned away from John before heading out of the studio with Jack and Nova to the café. Jack only appeared puzzled by Sara's somewhat sarcastic but vague comment.
"Sara…." He paused. "Forgive me if I'm a bit slow, but was that supposed to scare him? Men like him…." He shrugged. Barrowmen only knew John and Mark to be properly fearful of the Doctor and for good cause if the Earth was left dangling in the balance. Now with his granddaughters to contend with, even more was at risk. Especially considering the girls themselves didn't want the Doctor to know of their kinship. He could only shudder when inevitably the Doctor would find out and the anger he would have when the knowledge had been kept from him.
'But he doesn't have to know.' Sara had pleaded. 'They didn't know what the information meant until you barely figured it out. We'll just pretend we don't know….'
And for that Barrowmen grimaced. A far easier wager said than done. But still, the Doctor wasn't one to often run into his presence on any regular basis and he cared about Nova and Sara more than he liked to admit. They were his friends too. And they could appear to see him every day without becoming ill. He had to think that was due to Sara's healing ability. I had nearly broken him when he had been forced to sever his companionship with the Doctor.
But the girls, they filled up a void in him the Doctor had left and for that he was grateful even with the circumstances. They were amusing and often so ironic. Being on the sets kept him occupied.
"Oh just wait. Cillian Murphy has some of the scariest eyes you have ever seen. It will disconcert him at least for a few seconds." She smiled, thinking she had done well to secure him. It would lend more sophistication and refinement to the role. In the original books, Moriarty was a professor. Distinguished and intelligent. She wanted to be able to play the line between psychopathy and sophistication. It was Sherlock Holmes after all and considering she 'wrote' the stories, she was free to make a few changes, wasn't she?
Nova thought for a few seconds as an idea occurred to her. "When is Murphy getting in?" she asked carefully.
Sara raised her eyebrows at the tone. "You've got an idea. Tell me?"
"Only if he agrees. When?"
Sara laughed. "Tomorrow. He's catching the train."
"Well, don't be surprised if he…disappears for a little bit." Nova grinned broadly. "Because I've got an idea!" She laughed as she moved off.
"Oh, she is so evil sometimes." Sara muttered to herself as she chased after her friend, smiling just as widely. It was times like this that they could forget just how much danger they were in. Why they went around with a protection detail at all times. These days, the moments were few and far between; to be savored when they came. "I'll make you tell me!" was heard from a far room, and then hysterical laughter as a tickle-war started.
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